Wrinkles are formed in skin when the skin is both folded against itself for extended periods of time and the skin has lost some of its original elasticity. Loss of such elasticity is often a natural effect of the aging process. With the loss of such skin elasticity, skin locations where the skin is sometimes folded, particularly for long periods of time, will develop a lined wrinkled appearance with the wrinkles being mostly linear and following troughs in the skin, where the skin has been folded against itself. Generally, the development of wrinkles is considered to be undesirable aesthetically as it can make one look older. Hence, efforts have been made in the prior art to resist wrinkle formation and to treat wrinkles once they occur.
Certain places on the body are more susceptible to the formation of wrinkles than others. Some of these locations are not typically covered by clothing and thus present the greatest negative influence on the person's appearance. One particular location where wrinkles have a propensity to form which can be particularly undesirable is in the cleavage area on the chest of a woman, between her breasts and extending up from her breasts toward her neck. Such chest wrinkles typically extend substantially vertically and can begin approximately at a midpoint between the breasts and extend up close to the neck. Many clothing tops, especially for woman, include a low neckline which exposes this cleavage area. When vertical chest wrinkles are in this cleavage area and a woman is wearing such a low neckline top, the vertical chest wrinkles are visible, tending to degrade the woman's appearance.
The inventor has discovered through careful study that such vertical chest wrinkles form largely while the woman is sleeping on her side. When a woman is standing, the skin in the cleavage area is not folded against itself, except perhaps in a lower portion of this cleavage area between and slightly above the breasts. The upper cleavage area and extending toward the neck is generally flat when the woman is standing. Similarly, when the woman is lying on her back, the breasts rest away from each other so that the skin does not fold against itself to present the possibility of development of wrinkles. However, when a woman is lying on her side the breasts tend to be drawn together and vertical chest wrinkles can form. In particular, when the woman is lying on her side, the lower breast is supported by a mattress or other underlying support. An upper breast is drawn by gravitational forces down against the lower breast. The skin between the breasts and in the cleavage area is folded against itself along a vertical trough extending up towards the neck of the woman. Over time, and with the loss of skin elasticity, this vertical skin fold can turn into one or more vertical chest wrinkles. In many women, this vertical chest wrinkle (or group of wrinkles) can develop to be quite deep and distinct.
Prior art techniques for eliminating wrinkles have numerous drawbacks. Chemicals can be applied topically to the skin to tend to shrink the skin somewhat and eliminate wrinkles. The large cleavage area and the relatively deep vertical chest wrinkles which form in this area do not lend themselves to elimination through the application of such topical products. Also, such products often make the skin uncomfortably sensitive. Chemicals can be injected to eliminate wrinkles (e.g. BOTOX, a trademark of Allergan, Inc. of Irvine, Calif.). Such injections actually kill nerve endings and are generally more effective where wrinkles are formed due to muscle tension and relaxation actions, such as associated with the face, rather than in large low muscle density skin areas such as the cleavage area of the chest. Another prior art wrinkle treatment option is to undergo plastic surgery to tighten the skin by making appropriate incisions and stretching the skin to alleviate the wrinkles. Such surgery carries with it the associated risks of major surgery and the difficulty of hiding incision lines as well as the trauma associated with such surgery; not to mention the attendant significant costs.
Accordingly, a need exists for methods and apparatuses for eliminating vertical chest wrinkles with greater effectiveness and lesser related drawbacks. Such techniques and devices should effectively minimize or eliminate such vertical chest wrinkles, such as by keeping the skin from folding against itself when a woman is lying on her side.